


Troubled Hearts (And the Cure for Them)

by The_fake_ReliusClover



Series: Voyagerverse [7]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Dragon ball z references, Early Valentine's Day Fluff, F/F, Family Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Monica Rambeau, Romantic Fluff, True friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 22:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19733341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_fake_ReliusClover/pseuds/The_fake_ReliusClover
Summary: Monica and Zatanna's first Valentine's Day as a couple is coming up this weekend, and Monica is ripping her hair off trying to find the perfect gift for her beloved. To solve this dilemma, Monica Rambeau will call upon her friends and family to help her find the right gift for her magical girlfriend. But even if they find it, can Monica get past her feelings of inadequacy and let herself be happy in this joyous day?





	Troubled Hearts (And the Cure for Them)

**Author's Note:**

> I have some news concerning the future of this series. Be sure to read the end notes for that.

**Washington DC**

**February 10, 1998**

"What?!", Monica shouted as she pulled her face away from the book she was reading as if she had just laid her eyes upon a secret not meant for mortal eyes, "Goku was an alien this entire time?! How?! Why?!"

She was in her Zatanna's room as the two were reading a manga series that Zee had bought during a trip to Japan.

Zatanna looked at Monica's shocked expression with amusement. "Well, he does have a monkey tail. When was the last time you met someone with one of those, dear?"

"Zee, we've been reading about a version of Earth where anthropomorphic pigs, magic talking cats, and dog kings are treated as regular people," Monica pointed, "Up until this point, we've been dealing with magic stuff, so please understand why I am confused about why sci-fi aliens are suddenly thrown into the mix!"

"To be fair, most legends in my social circle hint that magic itself came from space."

"But I doubt the author knows that!"

"You're overthinking it Monica," Zatanna said with a soothing tone, "This series is meant to be weird. I'm actually more surprised that this Raditz fellow is Goku's long-lost brother!"

"Yeah, it does give off an 'Empire Strikes Back' vibe. I like it," Monica said as the shock from the reveal began to calm down, "I can... weirdly relate to have a long-lost relative working for a genocidal space empire."

"There you go!", Zatanna said in an encouraging tone, "Connect with the story! Let's see where this rabbit hole takes us."

"You know what, I will," Monica nodded, "I think I'm going to like this new direction. Real Cain and Abel stuff sci-fi style! I have a feeling Raditz will be this series' best villain yet!"

Spoiler alert. He won't.

Despite that questionable creative choice, the two girls were drawn into these books (translated from Japanese via a spell) as they spent the entire night reading _Dragon Ball Z_ up until the end of the Frieza Saga. Despite a radical change in genre, both Monica and Zatanna enjoyed the wild ride Akira Toriyama took them in these volumes.

After putting down volume eleven, Monica looked at Zatanna with a wide smile. "That... was... AWESOME!"

"Tell me about it!", Zatanna said in agreement, "That finale is the stuff of legends! Two powerful warriors, one light and the other dark, fighting over a lake of fire as the planet gets torn apart! I mean, that final fight was so amazing that I worry that the next story arc won't be as amazing."

"I don't know about that. The author seems to know what he's doing. I mean, you said the same thing in the Saiyan Saga after all!"

"Wanna find out if he can keep this up?", Zatanna said teasingly as she picked up volume twelve from the pile.

"Oh yeah, I do!", Monica said as Zatanna lifted her wand up. But before she could cast her spell, however, the doorbell suddenly rang throughout the penthouse. Monica furrowed her eyebrows in worry. "They're here already? We haven't been out that late, right?"

"Let me check," Zatanna said before chanting, "Tahw si eht emit?!"

A set of numbers, letters, and a colon suddenly materialized into the air in the form of rainbow colored dust. The numbers read as "11:30 pm".

Zatanna sighed. "Indeed it has, my love. We have indeed stayed up past our bedtime."

"How come you can make that phrase sound so sophisticated and not at all like a lame mom?"

Zatanna flipped her hair with a self-assured smile as a response. "I am a woman of many talents."

"Yeah, you are," Monica said before kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. She then got up and told Zatanna, "We're definitely continuing this ASAP, right?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. I'll even bring a couple books to lunchtime tomorrow. But first...", Zatanna then got up to give Monica a brief but loving kiss on the lips. Pulling away, she smiled at her and said, "It's gonna be our first Valentine's Day this Saturday. I got you something real special for you, Monica. Something truly... magical! Oh... I can't wait!"

Monica smiled back, silently thanking whatever deity is responsible for putting this wonderful girl into her life. She replied, "Me too. I love you, Zee."

Zatanna's smile grew wider as she moved in to hug her girlfriend. "I know."

Monica laughed as the two separated. She then walked out of Zatanna's room as Monica went for the front door to meet up with Maria or perhaps Carol this time. Halfway there, however, Monica stopped in her tracks as she suddenly had a dreadful epiphany.

"I totally forgot Valentine's Day is this Saturday!", Monica quietly said before throwing her hands over her eyes, "Gah! I don't have a gift for her!"

* * *

**February 11**

It was lunchtime on Monica's school. She was currently sitting with her Skrull friend, Mabel, on a round table with empty trays and a copy of _Dragon Ball Z_ Volume 12 laid flat on the table. Jackson Hyde called in sick today, although Monica thinks that he was playing hooky since he didn't look that sick yesterday. And Zatanna is currently in the bathroom, leaving Monica alone with her friend, who was reading the thirteenth volume with single-minded wonder.

Monica, however, had too much on her mind to fully give herself into the story. She awkwardly played along with Zatanna and Mabel when they were reading the thirteenth volume. Monica was anxiously waited for a moment alone with Mabel due to the... 'sensitive' nature of what she wanted to talk about.

With that moment in front of her, Monica tapped her friend's shoulder and asked, "Hey Mabel, can I ask you something?"

"Mmnh?", she hummed snapped out of her concentration, "Uh... yeah. What's up?"

"So... Valentine's Day is coming up this weekend," Monica started to explain rather uncomfortably, "And..."

"What's Valentine's Day?"

"Valentine's Day?", Monica mumbled in confusion before remembering that her friend is an alien with a limited understanding of human culture, "Oh, it's a holiday we Earthlings have. Basically, it's a day that celebrates love and relationships. Couples exchange gifts to each other and celebrate together. That kind of thing."

"That sounds nice!", Mabel said with an approving nod, "My people have a holiday like that, although ours is more focused about intercourse and losing one's virginity," she then let out an excited gasp, "Are you and Zee planning to lose yours this weekend?!"

"What?! No! God no!", Monica exclaimed out of disgust.

Mabel deflated with disappointment. "Oh... so what do you in this... day of Valentine?"

Monica sighed. "Like I said, couples usually exchange gifts with each other. Zee already has gift for me, and I'm freaking out because I forgot that Valentine's Day is this weekend! I really want to make our first Valentine's Day special, so can you please help me figure out what gift I should give her this Saturday?"

"Hmm...", Mabel tapped her chin in deep thought, "In my culture, the most heartfelt gesture that one could give to their lover is to deliver them the head of their worst enemy. Why don't you track down one of Zee's enemies and cut their head off?!"

"First of all, that's illegal," Monica said slightly disturbed, "Second of all, we saw what Zee's enemies look like. I don't think my non-powered butt can handle a freaking demon!"

"And she does find the sight of blood disturbing. That's true," Mabel hummed before suggesting, "Most people, regardless of race and culture, would appreciate a simple monetary exchange. So why not give Zee a substantial amount of Earth dollars? I'll even lend you some..."

"No. Zee's already filthy rich. It's not gonna mean much to her."

"I see," Mabel said before tapping her chin again, "How about a cute pet?"

"She has a couple of pet bunnies."

"Hmm... what about a weapon? For self-defense?"

"She already has magic."

"A date in a five-star restaurant?"

"Can't afford it."

"A coat made out of the skin of a rare animal?"

"Also illegal, and Zee loves animals too much."

"Umm... I know! How about a perpetual motion dynamo powered by cold fusion..."

"I don't know what half those words are."

Mabel slumped into the table. "Then... I don't know. I'm sorry."

Monica's expression lighten as she smiled and patted her friend in the back. "That's okay. At least you tried."

Mabel smiled back as she lifted the book again.

Monica leered over her and asked, "I really wasn't paying attention before. Where are we at?"

Excitedly, Mabel explained, "Well, it turns out that Frieza survived that fight on Namek and has come to Earth as a weird looking cyborg with his dad. But then they got killed by Trunks here..."

"She looks cute."

"He's a guy, actually."

"Oh," Monica hummed in disappointment. She thought, "Man, when are we gonna get another strong woman in this series?"

"And it turns out that he's a time traveling Super Saiyan from the future," Mabel said plainly.

"Okay...", Monica hummed skeptically.

"And he's the son of Vegeta, who is a good guy now apparently, and Bulma."

...

"You're kidding, right?"

"Hello girls!", Zatanna said returning from the restroom. She got back to her seat as she asked, "So where were we?"

"Yamcha died."

"Again?", Monica thought to herself.

"And the villains are these androids here...", Mabel pointed to a wrinkly old man and a fat clown.

"They look absolutely ridiculous," Monica said as she gazed at what's supposed to be the main threat of this arc.

Zatanna shrugged. "Eh, my pet rabbits can rapidly self-multiply into a giant made of baby bunnies. I'm not one to judge on weird character design."

"Want me to turn the page?"

"Of course," Zatanna said as she leaned next to her.

Monica took a moment to process that little bombshell as she mumbled to herself, "When did my life gotten as weird as this book?"

* * *

**February 12**

It was an hour after class has ended.

Monica decided to take her bike and ride all the way to Jackson's house on the other side of the neighborhood. While she had all day now, Monica rode as fast as her legs can pedal.

Monica is still drawing a blank on what she's supposed to get Zee, and she's panicking over having two days at most to do something about it. She didn't want to disappoint her beloved on this special occasion. Not when she apparently had something great for her.

Monica hastily dumped her bike on Jackson's front door before stepping up and ringing the doorbell. She tapped her foot nervously for a moment or two before the door opened up.

One of Jackson's legal guardians, Mrs. Marquez, answered the door. She looked at Monica curiously before asking, "Yes? Um, who are you?"

"I'm Monica. Jackson's friend. Is he home?", she asked rubbing her hands anxiously.

"Oh yes! Monica," the woman said with her eyes beaming, "Jackson told me a lot about you. Yes, he's home. He's on the living room couch with another friend of his. I'm sure he'll be very happy to see you."

"Thanks ma'am," Monica said before the woman stepped aside to let her guest enter the rather average looking house.

She navigated through the unfamiliar surroundings for a moment. Monica saw what definitely looks like a living room with a big TV sitting on a stand in a far wall, which laid opposite to a set of couches and a fireplace on the side. On the couch sat Jackson, who was barefoot and wearing a red shirt, along with a blonde haired Asian girl wearing a ponytail and a green jacket.

Monica overheard a bit of their conversation as she walked towards them.

"... I don't think the rest of the team likes me very much," she heard the girl say.

"They just need time to get used to you Artemis. I mean, you're family history is a little... sketchy. But I'm sure they'll be more trusting once they get to know the real you," Jackson reassured her.

"I guess," she sighed, "I suppose I wouldn't be so friendly either if I found out that one of my teammates was related to a criminal. They probably think that I'm some kind of mole for my dad's organization or something."

Jackson chuckled. "I'm sure that's not true."

"You're way too trusting. You know that, right?", she remarked before rubbing the back of her head, "Um, thanks for keeping my secret for as long as you did. I appreciate it."

"Of course. Speaking of which. I've been meaning to ask. What did your sister tell you about the... gig this weekend?", Jackson said cautiously.

"Not much. Jade is not...", the girl suddenly stopped talking when she noticed Monica approaching them, "Normie alert. Three o'clock."

Jackson looked a Monica for a brief moment before turning back to his friend. "I see. I guess we can continue this conversation later."

The girl nodded. "I'll be raiding your pantry. Again, thank you Kal... Jackson. I... thanks."

The girl then walked into the kitchen, allowing Monica to take her seat.

She turned to her friend and asked, "New girlfriend?"

"Yeah, but drop the 'girl' part," Jackson answered with a chuckle, "She's not my type anyway."

"Right...", Monica hummed before idly asking, "You look well. We missed you at school, by the way."

"Sorry, but I had to go away for a family gathering yesterday. You know how it is."

Monica raised her eyebrow. "I thought you called in sick?"

Jackson sweated a little as he answered, "That too. I'm better now, obviously."

"If you say so," Monica said. She was a little suspicious of Jackson's out-of-school activities, but Monica decided that they weren't that important at this moment. "Valentine's Day is coming up this Saturday. It'll be me and Zatanna's first Valentine's together, so I really want to make it special."

"That sounds great," Jackson said before asking, "But what do you need me for?"

"I... don't have a gift for her, and Zee apparently has a special gift she's excited to give me this Saturday. Since she's magical and you're magical, I just want your advice on what to give her. I don't want to mess this up."

"Monica, I don't think Zee is the type of person who would break up with you over a lackluster gift."

"I know," Monica sighed, "It's just that... I suppose the problem then is me. Zee's such a wonderful and amazing girl. She's smart, beautiful, rich, and has magic powers for Christ's sake! I mean... who am I next to that? I'm just some normal suburban girl who just so happened to luck into a prestigious private school. I got no powers, and frankly, I don't have anything interesting that's all my own. I guess I'm saying that if I can give my magical girlfriend a gift as amazing as she is that I can pretend for a moment that I'm someone worthy of her. I don't know why I'm wasting your time with my baggage Jackie..."

Jackson held his friend's hand. "But you are worthy of Zatanna, Mon. She wouldn't be with you if you weren't."

"But I was such a jerk to her when we first met, and she turned out to be more and more amazing the longer I knew her. I just... I want this to last, and I'm scared that she'll be bored of normal girl like me and leave."

"Monica. You're a lot of things. Normal isn't one of them," Jackson pointed out, "One of your moms is an intergalactic superhero and the other is basically a secret agent. And you're best friends with a shapeshifting alien and an Atlantean water mage."

"Yeah, but I'm just a boring..."

Jackson quickly interrupted her. "And, you took on a fire demon on your own to help me and Zee. You did that without any special powers and with only a tray of eggs to protect yourself. How many people can claim that they can do that?"

Monica let out a weak smile. "Not many, I guess."

"You have a lot more going on than you think, Monica. You have a strong and brave heart. I know it. Mabel knows it. Your mothers know it. And Zee definitely knows it. She'll love whatever you get her, because it came from _you._ That's something no one else can do for her."

Monica looked down and blushed. "I... thanks Jackie. I needed that."

Jackson smiled back. "No problem."

Monica looked up and asked, "Back to the question at hand. What do you think I should get her? I'm really drawing a blank here."

Before Jackson could open his mouth, the Asian girl from before suddenly showed herself behind the couch and said, "I think something handmade would be nice. It really sells that it came from the heart."

Monica yelped in shock and jumped into her seat.

Jackson looked at her and said, "Eavesdropping Artemis?"

"Sorry. Can't help overhearing your private heart-to-heart. I blame my dad's training," Artemis snarked, "I admit, gay romances aren't exactly my area of expertise, but I imagine some relationship concepts are universal."

Monica laughed nervously. "I'm not gay..."

"Is that why you called this 'Zee' a 'she'?", Monica shuddered nervously as Artemis patted her in the back and said, "Don't worry, Monica. I won't tell a soul."

"I... thanks, um... Artemis, was it?"

"Yeah. So about the gift," Artemis started to say, "I was thinking something made of clay..."

"Like a vase?", Jackson suggested.

"In the shape of a demon?", Monica added. Artemis stared at her as Monica clarified, "It, uh, represents our first sleepover together. It makes sense in context."

Artemis nodded. "I see, a symbolic significance. Nice touch."

Monica smiled as the three spent their afternoon workshopping various gift ideas.

* * *

**February 13**

After that much needed talk in Jackson's house, Monica rode back home and spent the entire night in her room to draw up a design for a flower pot. Once she was finished putting it to paper, Monica told her parents about her gift to Zatanna and they agreed to help her make the pot while she was at school.

After enduring an excruciatingly long day of school, Monica arrived home to see one of her mothers, Maria, in the living room sitting on the couch with an unpainted brown pot on the coffee table. It met Monica's specifications to the T as if the thing jumped straight out of the page.

The pot had ridges on its sides that led to the faces of a horned demon, which was sculpted at both ends. Monica actually froze up briefly at the sight of Lady Blaze's face, but that just shows how hard her mothers worked to bring her art to life.

Maria smiled at her daughter and said, "You're just in time, honey! The pot just got out of the oven. All you need to do is give it a good paintjob!"

Monica let out a nervous laugh. "Uh huh, right."

She then laid down her bookbag and walked cautiously over to the couch. Monica took a seat next to her mom as she eyed a brush and a tray of paint on the coffee table. Taking a deep breath, Monica picked up the brush and dipped the hairs into the black paint. She moved the brush over to the pot, but then her hand began to tremble.

This was going to be way harder than Monica thought. One slip up and the perfectly sculpted clay pot would turn out to be an uglier disaster than the clay dragon she made in fifth grade (which more resembled a four-legged chicken with a body colored urine yellow with a gaudy pink and red spotted head).

Monica couldn't find the courage to start painting until Maria held a steady hand over her daughter's own hand.

Maria held it firmly and whispered, "It's alright, baby girl. I got you."

It was a small gesture, but her mother's words helped Monica find the strength she needed to do this. Taking a deep breath, Monica moved her hand to swipe a stripe of black paint across a clay ridge. After a few minutes, Maria didn't even need to guide her daughter's brush as Monica threw herself into her work. Her mind was concentrated on the mental picture in her head of what she wanted the pot to look like and on Zatanna's face to remember who she was dedicating this to.

After an hour and a half of painting, Monica smiled as she pulled back her brush and gazed at her work. The finished pot was mostly black. The two demon heads on the front and back were colored to match the rest of the pot. The demons' eyes were painted blood red and the horns painted brown with fire orange cracks painted on the skin. However, to celebrate her and Zatanna's victory over the beast, Monica painted scattered eggs across the sides of the pot. Additionally, the demons' sad expressions were even made more pitiful when Monica painted red lines from the eyes to the cheeks as if they were crying blood.

Once the finishing touches were complete, Monica put down her brush to let the paint dry.

With a proud smile on her face, Maria wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "You did good, Mon. It's beautiful."

"Thanks," Monica hummed happily before asking, "Do you... do you think Zatanna will like it?"

Maria placed a kiss on her daughter's braided head as she said, "I know she will, honey."

* * *

**February 14**

It was an early in the morning when Monica woke up and hastily ate her breakfast. After finishing the pot yesterday, Zatanna called and told Monica that she wanted to give her suprise gift at her place. She said that she will send a limousine for her at noon, so Monica scrambled to finish her early morning routine and make herself presentable for her beloved girlfriend.

After going inside her closet to put on her ripped jeans, a cool leather jacket, and the white and purple striped top that Zatanna liked, Monica rushed downstairs in her socks to rummage through the family shoe closet for her most fashionable sneakers.

Once she had her shoes on, Monica walked over to the coffee table with a paper bag in her hands. She looked at her now dried flower pot with nervous anticipation present in her eyes. Monica was still proud of her work, but a nagging feeling of inadequacy suddenly pulled on the back of her mind.

Despite the relatively fine quality of the pot, it's still just a mundane piece of clay. Would someone as amazing as Zatanna Zatara be impressed by such a gift?

Maria came up behind her nervous daughter and held her shoulders. "She's gonna love it, honey."

Monica took a quick look at her mother and then at the pot as she said, "I hope so."

The teen then set her bag on the table and lifted up the pot to inspect it. Monica flipped it over to look at the inside of the pot. She asked her mother, "What kind of flower do you think we should plant in here?"

Maria smirked as she answered, "I'm glad you asked, baby girl."

A loud thud suddenly echoed from the backyard. Monica ran out to the backdoor with the pot in her hands, her mother following closely behind her.

Monica opened the door to see her other mom, Carol Danvers, landing over the lawn in her signature red and blue Starforce uniform with a golden aura shimmering around her. She flipped her hair up and smiled at her daughter.

Carol walked towards her with a plastic bag wrapped around her arm. She looked at Monica and said, "Hey LT. Is that your flower pot? Looks good."

Monica blushed embarrassingly as she fiddled her fingers around the pot and said, "Thanks, Mom."

Carol knelt down and outstretched her hand. "May I?"

Monica held her fragile pot protectively, nervous that her super strong mom would accidentally break it. Thankfully, Maria gave her daughter an encouraging nudge as she said, "Don't worry, Mon. She's got something real special."

Monica looked up at Maria and let out a brief sigh. She handed her pot hesitantly to Carol, who held the fragile pot in her hands as gently as she would her own child. The blonde heroine then got out a plastic container from her bag and dumped its contents, a pile of rich, black soil, into the pot. She then got out a small seed in the shape of a teardrop and buried it into the soil.

Carol explained, "I called Talos' wife, Soren, for some advice on flowers for your pot. Turns out she's an avid florist in her downtime, and she led me to this cool flower shop in Xandar. After an hour of searching, I think I found the most romantic flower in the whole galaxy! So I bought this seed here. It comes from a Dalish moon flower."

Monica looked at Carol in confusion as she asked, "That's great, but I think you should've bought the flower, Mom. I don't think Zee would like a pot full of dirt."

"That's what I thought. Don't worry, Trouble, I got this," Carol said confidently as she took out a dropper bottle and squirted a couple drops of green liquid into the soil.

After letting the pot rest for a second or two, a green vine suddenly popped out of dirt like a volcanic eruption. Over the course of a minute, the green vegetation wrapped together and formed a flower's stem as if the growing process hit fast forward. Eventually, the top of the stem produced a white bulb at the end of it, which exploded into a brilliant, tulip-like white flower that seemed to glow with ethereal energy. Monica was entranced by this beautiful sight as her eyes were glued to the now full-grown alien flower.

Carol smirked. "Yeah, I could've just done the obvious thing and dumped the flower here, but your mom's not that boring."

Maria looked on with just as much amazement as she said, "That was amazing, Carol! How did you do that?"

"It's a Shi'ar invention. It makes plants grow faster and more healthier. Pretty neat, huh?"

"I'll say," Monica and Maria said simultaneously.

"Believe or not, those birds call this potion, 'Soylent Green'," Carol chuckled, "Don't worry. It's not made of people. I checked."

Maria laughed at her girlfriend's joke. Monica didn't get Carol's 'old people reference', but she quickly rushed to her second mother and tackled her with a big hug.

"Zee's gonna love this! Thanks Mom."

Carol blushed and felt her heart skip a beat. She then smiled fondly and returned her daughter's hug. "Anything for you, Lieutenant Trouble."

* * *

With her gift complete, Monica left home and stepped inside the limousine that Zatanna provided for her. The limo ride to Zee's building, objectively speaking, was very pleasant. The interior was air-conditioned and smelled like strawberries, the leather seats were just heavenly, and there was a bag of popcorn next her seat and a small TV underneath the divider to the driver's seat, which was playing Monica's favorite movie, _Edward Scissorhands._ Monica should be enjoying herself right now.

But she couldn't.

So many things could go wrong today. The limo might get into a bad bump and make Monica drop her flower pot, shattering it. Or Monica may become careless and accidentally lean into the flower, crushing it. Or Zatanna may simply not like her gift. She would break up with her, and Monica would spend the rest of her life locked up in her room, crying and never loving again.

Monica shook her head before her traitor thoughts could get to her. "Calm down, Monica! Zee's not like that. She loves me, and she's going to love this gift. She's gonna love it. She's gonna love it. Please, God, let her love this!"

Thankfully, Monica wouldn't be alone with her thoughts for long as the limo stopped in a garage next to the Zatara Tower. Monica snapped out of her gaze as the driver got out of the car and walked over to open the door for his passenger.

"Here we are, Miss Rambeau," he said in a refined, elderly tone.

Monica nodded absentmindedly. "Thanks, Mr. Fox."

She then got out of her seat with the paper bag holding her precious gift.

"Would you like me to escort you to Madam Zatara?", the old driver offered.

"No, I'm good... actually, can you hold this for me?", Monica said presenting the bag to him, "It's fragile and my hands are shaking."

"As you wish," the driver said taking the bag.

The two then went inside the building and entered the elevator. After spending what felt like hours climbing up to the top floor of the tower, the doors open to the entryway to her beloved's home. Following behind Mr. Fox, Monica fiddled with her hands as Zatanna's servant got out a key from his jacket to unlock the door to the Zatara penthouse.

Once the door opened, Monica felt her breath taken away when she saw Zatanna wearing a classy blue dress- the sparkly kind that superstars wear to go out to the red carpet. On her neck was a simple, yet elegant silver necklace with a sapphire jewel as its head. Around her left wrist was a silver bracelet and on her right hand was group of three silver rings- two on her ring finger and the other on her index finger. Her makeup was very well done with her eye shadow covering her face like the wings of a raven along with a subtle dab of blush on the cheeks and a shiny layer of purple lipstick on her delicate lips.

She was just drop-dead gorgeous. Compared to Monica...

"No... no!", she thought to herself, "Don't go there. You are worthy of Zatanna! You are worthy of this beautiful girl with magic powers. She is definitely not out of my league, and my normal, suburban self with no powers and a flimsy allowance is perfectly worthy of... oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! I can't do..."

Zatanna held her girlfriend's cheek and hushed her. "It's alright, love. Just relax."

Monica noticed that she had been hyperventilating for the past few seconds. Closing her eyes, Monica took a deep breath and reordered her mind. When she opened her eyes, Zatanna moved in and placed her lips on her girlfriend's.

This simple expression lit a fire in Monica's heart that seemed to melt all her fears away as she embraced her love and returned her kiss with equal passion.

When the two separated, Zatanna rubbed her beloved's cheek and asked, "Better?"

Monica nodded as she smiled. "Yeah," she said before looking at Mr. Fox, "I got something for you."

The servant gave his mistress the bag before leaving to give the two girls their privacy. Zatanna held the bag with a warm smile on her face.

"I wonder what this is," she then looked at Monica and said, "Thank you."

"You're... welcome," Monica said awkwardly before twiddling her thumbs, "You look... nice."

Zatanna flipped her hair like a model and placed a hand on her hip. "That's an understatement," she then eyed up Monica's own outfit, "And you just look absolutely dashing, my dear. Like a knight in polished leather."

"Thanks. Um... are you gonna open your gift?"

"I will, but I wanna show you your gift first. Close your eyes."

Monica raised a brow. "What?"

"Just indulge me, my love," Zee said before Monica shrugged and closed her eyes as instructed. Zatanna walked behind Monica and wrapped one arm around her girlfriend's waist, making the latter's skin tingle with delight. With her other hand, Zatanna summoned her wand and waved it into the air. "Ni eht eman fo Allednis, ekat su ot eht ecalp fo ym traeh."

Monica felt a sudden dampness in the air as she smelled a slight tang of salt.

Zatanna whispered into her ear, "Open your eyes."

Monica suddenly found herself in a cave with a hole in the ceiling that casted moonlight into the darkness. She was standing on a carpet of sand and faced a narrow channel that led to the ocean. She turned around and asked Zatanna, "Where are we?"

"A private island off the coast of Turkey in the Mediterranean," Zatanna explained as if teleporting thousands of miles in a second is a perfectly normal thing.

After taking a moment to process that bombshell, Monica blinked and asked, "And what are we doing here in... Turkey?"

Zatanna gently held her hand as she said, "Your Valentine's Day gift is here. Look."

Monica turned her head to where Zee was pointing at, and her eyes widened.

It was a... log house, the kind you would find the woods. It looks cozy enough and sturdy, although Monica wondered how her girlfriend managed to build this thing inside of a cave.

"I don't understand," Monica said.

"My family used to come here on vacation when I was little. A tropical island all to ourselves... can you imagine that?", Zee recounted fondly before her face turned somber, "My... mother led me to this spot once I learned how to swim. It was our little secret spot. I practiced my spells here, and even did some magic for the fun of it. Mom used to cheer me on and even play along with my 'magic shows'. She taught me so much about magic and life..."

"That sounds lovely," Monica said warmly, "You don't talk much about your mom."

"Yeah...", Zee muttered sadly, "She... she died last year. I got sick, and... I later found out that one of father's enemies, a demon, poisoned me to get back at him. I was dying, and there was nothing my dad could do to make me better. So... my mom made a deal with that demon. Her life for mine. That's why I'm still here... and she isn't."

Monica held her girlfriend's hand and looked at her with the utmost sympathy. "I'm so sorry..."

Zatanna wiped a tear off her cheek and smiled at Monica. "Thank you," she sighed, "After Mom died, I couldn't... be here anymore. I see too much of her in this cave. In fact, I kinda closed myself off for a while to wallow in my grief. In private, of course. The superstar magician fashionista schtick became more of a coping mechanism rather than a choice as time went on. Anything to ignore the pain, you know? God, that got tiring."

Zatanna began tear up more, ruining her perfect makeup. All Monica could do was walk behind her beloved, hold her by the waist, and just be someone she could talk to.

"It was hard being without her. Very hard. Dad threw himself into his work, and I didn't have anyone else to talk to," Zatanna then entangled her fingers into Monica's, "And then, I met you, Mabel, Jackson and his weird friends... and then we got together."

Zatanna shifted herself in Monica's arms as she faced her with a tear-ridden smile. "You guys brought me back to life. Being with all of you... and loving you made me feel... like myself again. I still miss my mom, and I'm going to for the rest of my life, but... she would've wanted me to have this. To have you..."

Zee gave Monica a quick kiss on the cheek as she wrapped her arms around her waist and talked into her ear, "That's why I conjured that log house here. I don't want this place to just be another bad memory, so I want to make some new memories here... with you. This can be our secret spot now, a place where we can just be alone together. No pressure. No judgements. Just a place, where we can be ourselves."

The two then separated to allow Zee to give her girlfriend a silver coin. "This is my gift to you. Whenever you feel alone and want to get away from it all, you can just rub heads and teleport here."

Monica examined the coin with a smile on her face. Her girlfriend just dumped a lot of her baggage for the past few minutes, but Monica is glad that she did. It means that she trusts her with the deep stuff, the important stuff. This was an act of love.

But was Monica worthy of it?

Monica's hand shook as she asked, "Do I really make you that happy?"

"Of course you do, my dear," Zee said holding her elbows reassuringly, "Why would you think otherwise?"

Monica nudged the paper bag on Zatanna's arm, "You got me this, and I got you a plant."

Zatanna got the pot out of the bag and looked at it. Zee marvelled at the beauty of the exotic flower, and laughed at the humorous design of the pot. It was a beautiful gift, one made from the heart. Zatanna would say that for any gift Monica gave her, but this gift earned that description.

Zatanna looked back at her girlfriend and saw the uncertainty in her eyes, the insecurities that she must have been hiding all day.

She smiled at her and said, "I love it."

"Really?"

"Really really."

Monica scratched the back of her head. "It's just... you're so amazing and powerful. Any guy, or girl, would be lucky to have you. And I'm just... boring ol' me. I've always wondered, why did you go for me when you could have someone prettier or... more interesting?"

Zatanna looked firmly into her girlfriend's eyes and caressed her cheek. "It's true. I could've had someone more better looking or even a fellow magician as my girlfriend or boyfriend. But they're not the girl I fell in love with. Nor are they the girl who saved my life or the girl who made me feel whole again. I love you, Monica Rambeau, and you don't have to prove yourself to me. Ever."

Monica started to cry tears of joy at hearing her beloved's kind words. Hearing that declaration of love finally dispelled all the doubts that Monica had been tormenting herself with for the past few days. It was... the best feeling she ever felt in her life so far.

Overcome by pure happiness, Monica moved in and gave a passionate kiss to her beautiful girlfriend. Once the two separated, Monica said, "I love you too, Zee. I love you so much."

Zatanna laughed. "Look at us being all mushy and teary-eyed."

"Yeah, I know. This got... intense," Monica mused.

"How do you think we should spend the rest of first Valentine's Day together?"

"Read more _Dragon Ball Z_ in our cool, new cabin?"

Zatanna wiped away her tears and smirked. "I love the way you think, dearest."

**Author's Note:**

> Another one-shot down and all is right in the world.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this story. Also, I did say I have an important announcement concerning the future of the Voyagerverse, huh.
> 
> You see, this series began with an ongoing story called Voyager Takes Flight. It was originally supposed to be a short story with a few chapters that detail the origin of the superheroine, Voyager, into this MCU AU. Like I said, it's supposed to be a simple origin story for my version of Va Nee Gast, but over time, that simple plan... went off the rails. I switched the initial direction of the story because I got bored, there was a good chunk of the story where Carol's Kree mom, Mari-Ell, took over as the main character, and now I involved a strange dream world in the Quantum Realm. And to top it all off, there are creative choices made in VTF that I no longer favor.
> 
> Because of these factors, I decided to just cut off the dead weight of the series to save myself the trouble. As of the time of this publication, Voyager Takes Flight is now struck from the canon of the Voyagerverse. I'll be discontinuing that story and its events are no longer canon to the rest of the series. This means that I have to make some edits to the remaining stories of this series to divorce it from VTF, but thankfully this is limited to altering things said in the notes. I won't actually be changing the content of those stories, just remove those rather minor references.
> 
> I'll be taking a break from this series for a while, and work on other things. If I ever return to this series, I will probably post a replacement story for VTF first. It would share many of the elements of its predecessor but spun in a different and hopefully interesting direction.
> 
> Sorry for burning out on another series again, but at least this story serves as a good enough ending for now. Thank you all for the read and your support for this series. I really appreciate it.
> 
> Have a nice day.


End file.
